Prince Edward stared at Prince Roberto depressingly, very worried for the woman's sake. Being the caring man he was, he just couldn't get her off of his mind. What was Prince Roberto thinking...? "Roberto, do you not think that was a little...unnecessary?"
"I wish it was..." Prince Roberto awkwardly frowned, scratching at the back of his head. "I was serious when I said she wouldn't come if I didn't do something crazy like that..."
Prince Keith just scoffed, almost a little amused by this. "She sounds like a cheeky little girl. Or she is just extraordinarily smart for not listening to you."
Prince Roberto stuck out his bottom lip to pout, looking completely dejected as the disappointment crashed over his head like a huge wave. "Aww, Keithster, don't be like that!"
Prince Keith snapped at Prince Roberto, "do not call me that!" before he quickly turned back to the other princes on the couch.
It had been fifteen minutes since Prince Roberto made that call and sent Alberto to fetch this "mystery woman" from the airport and bring her to Nobel Michel Castle, and the other five princes were very confused by this strange turn of events.
Prince Roberto knew Halle was in Charles on a case, and he knew she was supposed to leave tonight and had her flight booked for four o'clock this afternoon. He knew what kind of woman she was, and he absolutely, most certainly knew what the consequences of screwing her over like this were.
"...you do realize you are going to be in a lot of trouble when the authorities realize it was a false alarm, right?" Prince Glenn was as serious as ever, although he was a little amused deep down with Prince Roberto's methods.
"Yeah..." Prince Roberto exhaled sharply. "Honestly, I'm not too worried about that. I'm more concerned with just how mad at me she is going to be when she storms in here any minute." The prince of Altaria jerked his thumb behind him, directing everyone's attention to the two doors at the front of the room.
"What do you think she will do to a prince?" Prince Keith almost laughed at how crazy Prince Roberto's unease was, thinking it was completely unnecessary. "There is not much of anything she can do to you."
"I wouldn't underestimate her." Prince Roberto shook his head decisively, nervously biting the inside of his cheek. "This won't exactly be her first time scolding me..."
"I would imagine that is the case for anyone acquainted with you." Prince Joshua observed, unamused in every way possible.
"Ouch." Prince Roberto clutched his heart, looking offended as he pouted to Prince Joshua. "That's a little harsh, Josh!"
Prince Wilfred simply just sighed sharply, rubbing at his forehead stressfully. "Are you not just creating a huge mess for this poor woman to clean up?"
Prince Edward's eyes flickered to the floor despondently. "I can only imagine what sort of problems you have caused the lady..." He continued to worry about her, being the nice guy he was.
"She'll be fine." Prince Roberto reassured the other princes, brushing off their concern. "Halle is pretty tough. It's me you guys should be worried about!" He looked to his friends for even the tiniest shred of sympathy being reflected in their eyes, and he immediately looked insulted when he found absolutely none.
Prince Glenn bitterly smiled to himself. "Well, whatever she does to you, I would say you had it coming." He shut his eyes as he leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms over his black and gold formal attire.
The princes were suddenly unable to discuss the topic for much longer, because they could hear a rush of footsteps and incoherent squabbling coming from behind the doors. Prince Roberto visibly flinched and tensed up as the doors were swung open with great force, and the six princes all watched in astonishment what was about to happen.
A fair-skinned woman with caramel hair and amber-brown eyes angrily marched into the room, dressed like some sort of prestiged businesswoman of some sort. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose as she eyed Prince Roberto.
"Halle, truly, I am sorry, I..." Alberto came rushing in the room behind the woman, apologizing on Prince Roberto's behalf in attempt to calm her down.
She immediately dismissed Alberto, too angry to think straight. "Robbie." Halle informally addressed Prince Roberto as she always did, crossing her arms angrily as she gave him her most malevolent glare.
Prince Roberto ran a hand through his brown hair with an awkward, very nervous grin plastered on his face. "Ahaha...I forgot just how terrifying you are when you're angry like that..." He instinctively took a hesitant step backwards. He would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little afraid for his life right now.
"Is there something you would like to tell me?" Halle instantly took notice of the five future kings in the room, immediately trying to behave herself as best as she possibly could, given her current situation.
It wasn't easy for a woman like herself to hold her tongue when it came down to it, but being friends with a prince like Prince Roberto for the past five years gave her a little practice. And he had given her a lot of bullshit to deal with that gave her lots and lots of practice.
Prince Keith tried his best not to laugh at Prince Roberto's misfortune, while Princes Glenn, Wilfred, and Edward were completely stunned and caught off guard by just how genuinely angry this woman was. Prince Joshua stared at this woman completely unimpressed as usual, already dreading this night. This is who he was stuck with...? He was almost considering just attending tonight's ball without an escort and suffering the consequences in order to avoid such an emotional woman...
Prince Roberto in all his fine glory squirmed uncomfortably at the sight of the angry woman two years younger than him, very uncomfortable with how close she was to him.
...she wouldn't punch him in front of all the guys, right?
"Err... I'm not sure what you're talking about?" He flashed her that cute, charming grin of his: that same grin that would make any woman melt from how enchanting it was.
Well, any woman except for Halle, of course, who was completely unaffected by all of the prince's charms since the day they first met. "Really?" Halle menacingly stepped closer to Prince Roberto, squaring her shoulders. "It's just that the strangest thing happened to me at the airport today when I was on my way home from Charles, and I honestly had no idea what had transpired until Albie showed up to take me to his limousine." Halle glanced back at Alberto behind her, who she had cleverly nicknamed "Albie" some odd number of years ago.
Alberto straightened his posture delicately, bowing out of respect to Halle. "Halle, I truly am sorry. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know as well as I do just how useless that is." He flashed Prince Roberto a glare, deeply disappointed with his master's behavior today.
Halle nodded decisively without turning to look at Alberto, holding her hand up to stop him. "Yes, I am aware. I am not angry with you, Albie."
Prince Roberto's voice got caught in his throat as he sucked in a breath, looking completely offended by that statement. "Hey! Why is everyone being so mean to me today...?"
Halle ignored him completely as she began to blow off a little steam. "Robbie, can you explain to me why when I tried to board my plane today, homeland security arrested me on the scene, confiscated all of my belongings, and took me into an interrogation room where they then proceeded to ask me a series of questions relating to me being a terrorist?" Halle placed her hands on her hips, stiffening her posture as she rose a single eyebrow at Prince Roberto.
"Uh..." Prince Roberto rose a finger as his single defense, pausing briefly. "This can all be explained, I promise!"
"Then explain." Halle's eyes only grew more angry as she narrowed them at the idiot prince before her. "Because of you, I am now under investigation, and I cannot leave the country unless I get a ride from someone because I'm now on homeland security's 'no fly' list!" She huffed in annoyance, more stressed out than anyone could possibly imagine. "Do you have any idea how bad this looks for me? I had to explain to my boss why I suddenly needed a few weeks off work to clear things up!"
Prince Glenn and Prince Keith had to bite their tongues to keep themselves from laughing out loud. It's not like they found this poor woman's situation amusing... (well, actually, Prince Keith did find it a little funny) ...but seeing this petite little thing get so angry at Prince Roberto and yell at him like that was...unordinary. Not just anyone could talk to a prince like that.
Prince Edward and Prince Wilfred only appeared to look concerned for the woman after hearing her troubles, about to interject and say something, when...
Prince Joshua looked the woman up and down with that typical, bored look of displeasure on his face. "This is the woman you spoke so highly of...?" That low, monotone voice of his reached Halle's ears, stabbing her heart like the fierce insult it was meant to be.
Prince Roberto tore his attention away from Halle to look at Prince Joshua in shock, too distracted by what he said to listen to Halle's yelling anymore. "Oh, actually, she doesn't normally look like this. I promise she is a very attractive woman, Josh." He laughed absolutely carefree as he bragged about his friend who he was a little too proud of, leaning on her shoulder with one of his arms. "I don't know why she looks so much like a lawyer today, though."
Halle flashed Prince Roberto a quick, hateful glare. "Maybe because I am a lawyer...?"
Prince Roberto dismissed her bitter attitude and ignored her completely as he took a step back, looking over her appearance thoughtfully as he pressed a finger to his lips. "Hmm... This won't do. Here, let's try...this!"
All of the princes watched as Prince Roberto snatched Halle's glasses off of her face, and she quickly furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. "Hey, give those back!"
"Why aren't you wearing your contacts?" Prince Roberto rose an eyebrow at her, holding her glasses up. "And don't pretend like you're blind. Your vision is nearly perfect."
Halle rolled her eyes. "I was in a rush to get to court this morning, so I just put my glasses on instead."
She reached for her glasses in Prince Roberto's hand, attempting to snatch them back when he playfully held them up high above his head and let her crash into him. Even in four inch heels, Halle was still three inches shorter than Prince Roberto, who was one of the shortest of the six princes, even though he was five-foot ten-inches tall just like Prince Joshua and Prince Wilfred. Prince Keith beat all three by just one inch, while both Prince Glenn and Prince Edward were six feet tall.
It was because of guys like these that Halle had a height complex, and she wore heels as her everyday shoes.
Now with no distance between them, Halle rested one hand on Prince Roberto's chest and ignored how close their faces were as she reached up for her glasses once more. "What are we, five and six? Give me my glasses back!"
Prince Roberto took advantage of her being so close to him and not paying attention to what he was doing by reaching out for her cardigan and pulling it off of her, smirking a little to himself as her cute little cocktail dress was revealed. "And we'll have to get rid of this, too."
"Hey!" Halle protested as Prince Roberto spun her around and simultaneously pulled out the one hairpin holding up all of her hair, allowing it to tumble down her left shoulder. He spun her back around to face all of the princes, who all widened their eyes in shock at her breathtaking transformation. Even Prince Joshua was thrown a little off balance. "Oooh, I'm dizzy now..." Halle clutched her head and she leaned against Prince Roberto, using him to keep her balance.
No glasses, no messy bun, and no boring cardigan. She was now just Halle: a beautiful woman in four inch heels, a teasing purple cocktail dress, and gorgeous brown hair that naturally curled around her neck and tumbled down shoulder. Her bangs were one big curl that blended in with her waterfall of hair, brushed neatly to the left side of her face.
"See, Josh?" Prince Roberto grinned happily at the arrogant prince, presenting Halle to him like a prized trophy. "Isn't she such a cutie?" He playfully pinched her cheeks, laughing at the annoyed look Halle was giving him.
"Pweez stahhp.." Halle tried to sound serious as she scolded him with her face being squished, her words almost sounding like gibberish.
Prince Roberto laughed as he let go of her. "Come on, Josh! She's perfect for you!" He stepped behind Halle and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking over at Prince Joshua. "She's cute, smart, funny, and respects the law just as much as you do! She's probably even better than the girl who cancelled on you!" Prince Roberto chuckled as he suddenly thrust Halle forwards, causing her to crash directly into Prince Joshua's chest.
Halle stared at the angry prince's face in immediate horror, pulling herself from him instantly. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Her eyes quickly flickered to the floor, tearing themselves away from his sharp, deep purple ones.
Prince Joshua glared at her before tearing his gaze away, uninterested in this woman completely. "Watch where you are going." He dusted off his white suit with his gloved hands, almost a little disgusted that she bumped into him. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that she didn't do anything wrong, and it was solely Prince Roberto's fault that they collided.
Halle blinked back her immediate surprise at Prince Joshua's rudeness, turning to face Prince Roberto with a judgmental look on her face. "Charming, isn't he?"
Jan almost snorted at Halle's quip, but as soon as he caught sight of the angry glare Prince Joshua was giving him, he quickly bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from slipping up and laughing at his master.
"You should think twice about how you speak to me." Prince Joshua leveled his gaze with the inferior woman, irritated to the bone with her behavior. "I am the crown Prince of Dres Van, and I expect you to treat me as such."
Halle scoffed as she crossed her arms, unable to hold her tongue this time. "And I expect you to treat a woman you just met with kindness, but then again, I suppose we all want unrealistic things."
Prince Keith and Prince Glenn just lost it at that point, unable to keep a straight face anymore after seeing the look on Prince Joshua's face. Prince Joshua almost looked...startled. But that look of shock quickly melted into anger.
"Why, you..." Prince Joshua stepped closer to the woman, whatever her name was, completely prepared to yell at her for her unacceptable behavior towards a member of the royal family.
"Oh-kay! Let's all calm down here!" Prince Roberto grabbed Halle's arms and pulled her over towards the couches the princes were sitting on, setting her down between Prince Wilfred and Prince Edward. "Halle, I need you to tone it down a notch." He stared into her eyes seriously, giving her a warning.
The stubborn woman let out one long, deep sigh. "Sorry... I guess I'm just a little irritated." She rubbed at her temples stressfully, trying to regain her bearings.
"Are you alright?" Prince Edward looked over Halle worriedly; a genuine look of concern was written on his face.
"I'll be fine." Halle smiled softly at the friendly face, grateful at least one of these princes were tolerable. "Thank you for your concern."
"Are you sure?" Prince Wilfred seemed just as concerned as Prince Edward, although he came off as a little more collected, and a tiny bit calmer. "If there is something we can do for you, please let us know."
"Oh no, thank you." Halle politely declined Prince Wilfred's offer with an awkward smile on her face, feeling a little flustered by all of these princes doting on her. It certainly wasn't something she was used to. "I could not possibly impose any further."
"Your aspirin, my lady." Alberto suddenly appeared beside her with an aspirin and a cup of water, handing them to her carefully.
"Thank you, Albie." Halle hastily took the medicine from him, immediately noticing the look Prince Glenn was giving her.
"Do you have a headache?" Prince Glenn pointed to the aspirin, which he thought her having it was a little weird, considering he didn't even hear her ask for it.
"No." Halle glared at nothing in particular as she gritted her teeth, then quickly flickered her gaze over to Prince Roberto. "...but I feel like I'm about to get one." She quickly popped the aspirin into her mouth and downed the whole glass of water, seemingly unaffected by Prince Glenn's laughter that immediately followed her sarcastic remark. "Alright, hit me with it. What's going on?"
"Huh?" Prince Roberto blinked back his shock as he stared at Halle, a little confused.
"What did you want from me?" Halle stood up from the couch, crossing her arms. "You didn't do all of this just to torture me. You did this to get me here because you need to ask me for a favor that I won't necessarily want to do. Is that correct?" She rose an eyebrow, waiting patiently for him to answer her.
"Wow. Hit the nail right on the head." Prince Roberto chuckled awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. "So, you see... Josh's date cancelled last minute for tonight's party, and he doesn't have anyone else that could fill in for him."
"...so you want me to fill in as Prince Joshua's escort?" Halle blinked a few times and pointed to herself as she began to process this, and once she did, she plastered an obviously fake grin on her face. "Oh wow, how could I refuse? After all, it's every girl's dream to go to a ball with a prince!" She had stars for eyes as she clapped her hands together, looking off to the side in a daze.
"Exactly!" Prince Roberto seemed relieved that she was on board, feeling a little less guilty about today now. "So you'll do it?"
Halle's smile dropped from her face so fast you could have sworn it had been slapped off. "No." She picked up her cardigan and glasses, then immediately walked towards the front door. "I'm leaving."
"Wha...Halle!" Prince Roberto grabbed her arm and pulled her back, preventing her from leaving. "Wait!"
"Ouch." Prince Glenn chuckled to himself, highly amused by the feisty woman's sarcasm. "I think you just got rejected, Prince Joshua."
Prince Joshua just stared at the woman with his jaw agape, completely stunned by her refusal. He didn't want to go with her, that much was obvious, but she didn't want to go with him? Surely this was some sort of mistake, right...?
Halle froze in place as her walls seemed to come down, and her voice lowered considerably. "I... I didn't mean it like that..." She met Prince Joshua's gaze apologetically, feeling a little guilty for how wrong those words came out. "It's just..." Halle ran her fingers through her hair, glancing over at Prince Roberto. "I hate parties... I always feel so out of place. You know that." She stared into Prince Roberto's brown eyes fiercely, although she didn't look angry. She looked almost...hollow inside. Maybe even a little sad. "And besides..." She rubbed her arm as she flickered her gaze to the floor, turning away from Prince Roberto. "I would make terrible company..."
"What? No you wouldn't!" Prince Roberto quickly ran to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders from behind her. "Come on, Halle! You're funny, sarcastic, and you can dance really well! Honestly, I'm jealous you're not my date." He spoke honestly as he always did, just making Halle roll her eyes.
"Robbie..." Halle didn't know how to accept his compliment, standing there completely flustered and awkward. "You are still forgetting to acknowledge the fact that I am blunt, pessimistic, anti-social, and all I ever do at parties anyways is avoid conversation and just drink quietly to myself."
"Well that's all Josh does, anyways." Prince Roberto shrugged his shoulders, swinging one arm over Prince Joshua casually. "Right, Josh?"
"Get off of me." Prince Joshua shrugged off Prince Roberto's arm in disgust. "And yes, I do not particularly care for parties or socializing, but..." He looked over at Halle with an uncharacteristic look of honesty in his eyes, unsure of what to say to her. It's not like he could turn her down. "I..."
"May I remind you that you do not have a choice?" Prince Wilfred butted in, looking over at Prince Joshua with a bored look on his face. They were already wasting too much time as it is.
"He is right." Prince Edward agreed, nodding his head. "I hate to say it, but whether you like it or not, Miss Halle here is your only choice. It is either her, or no one at all; there is no time to find someone else."
Halle felt oddly pressured by all of this, and she felt the need to sit down. "I... I don't know..."
Prince Roberto was starting to get frustrated that he just couldn't seem to convince her, and he immediately went to his last resort. "Halle Mitchell, I hereby order you to attend this party by orders of the crown prince of Altaria himself!" He proudly puffed up his chest, pointing a finger at her.
Halle rose an eyebrow at him as she scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You can't do that."
Prince Roberto had what looked similar to the crushed look of a child being scolded by a parent for making an illegal move in a board game on his face. "What? Why not?"
"We are in Nobel Michel, not Altaria." Halle crossed her arms as she confidently strode right up to Prince Roberto, looking directly up at his face as she relayed the loophole she found in his order. "This is a sacred ground shared equally by the six kingdoms. Altaria law is void here."
Prince Roberto looked completely dejected as his shoulders slumped. "Why do I even try to argue with a lawyer...?"
Halle chuckled adorably at his white flag of surrender, which she then followed up with a confident smirk. "Because you simply cannot help but try."
Prince Roberto pouted at Halle's mean remark, although he was used to this sort of abuse from both her and his butler by now. "Jheeze... So are you going to do me this favor, or what?"
Halle sighed as she looked over at Prince Joshua, ultimately leaving the decision up to him. "If Prince Joshua does not mind being stuck with me as his company for the night, then I suppose I could oblige..."
Prince Joshua turned his chin up and away from her, completely disinterested. "I have no other choice but to put up with your barely tolerable presence. Be ready within the hour." He dismissed her completely as he walked right past her, leaving through the doors. "Come, Jan. We are going."
"Yes, your Highness." Jan obediently followed behind his master, flashing an apologetic smile to Halle before he shut the door.
Halle drew her head back in shock, then quickly bit down on her tongue in order to hold in her words. "Fantastic. Looking forward to it..." She exhaled sharply as her sarcasm dripped off her tongue like venom from a poisonous snake.
This couldn't possibly go wrong.
Yeesh, I'm tired after writing all of this x-x juggling this many characters in a book is not easy... I tried to make everybody be present in this scene equally as best as I could, but some of the princes and the butlers were pretty quiet and just didn't have too much to say. Sorry about that, I'm trying to get used to writing with a bunch of characters again; I promise I'll get better with it as we get further into the story.
Anyways...
XD I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter, and getting to know my main character a little better. She's a bit feisty, isn't she? And anyone who's played Joshua's story knows that those personalities don't mix with him very well.
Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter!
Read, please review, and enjoy ^-^